Quality of Life

Abstract

Starting with quality of manufactured products, we began discussing quality of processes and went on to analyse quality of services. We also characterized the quality of our environment in terms of qualitative and quantitative aspects of its abiotic components, viz. soil, water and air as also the diversity in its biotic components, viz. plants, animals and micro-organism communities. More recently, we experience many different norms and regulations influencing the way we behave and work. As a natural extension of our concerns for quality, we should talk about Quality of Life. And, in this context, we come across wide disparities among different segments of the human population—in different countries, within the same country and within the same social or religious group—in respect of the situations in which they live and work and the extent to which they can satisfy the needs for their self-fulfilment. Looking from a different angle and going back to our earlier engagement with quality of products, processes and services, we find instances where we appreciate the quality of some produce and where the people behind are—within or beyond our knowledge—denied of many basic necessities of life. We also come across situations where people who have access to and who actually possess adequate opportunities for satisfying their needs offer goods and services that fail to satisfy the users. Do we then find a link between Quality of Life available to a producer and the quality of the produce? And does such a link require a definition of Quality of Life that is somewhat different from quality of living?